


Inevitable Result

by phoenixjustice



Series: Batman-Heroes Crossover-verse [4]
Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan), Heroes - Fandom, Iron Man (Movies), Smallville
Genre: Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-04
Updated: 2013-01-04
Packaged: 2017-11-23 16:04:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/623994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixjustice/pseuds/phoenixjustice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-TDK, post-2x08 Smallville, Post-S2 Heroes, some of S3 Heroes, Post-Iron Man. Spoilers for all the shows/movies. Sequel to Playing to Your Advantage.</p><p>"I was sent here to get you--since I was the only obvious way to get you to Gotham. The Joker asked me to come get you for this party thing that's getting ready to happen; well, he more like demanded and waved a knife around a lot, but I digress..."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inevitable Result

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Gotham. A town famous for many reasons. Arkham Asylum was well known for holding some of the country's worst criminals, the crazy and the crazier. Many of the criminals having been put away by another famous thing from Gotham; the Batman. He was as infamous as was his greatest nemesis, the Joker. Batman had done a lot to clean up the streets from the mob and the degenerates, but even in nearly two years of being around, the Batman had not managed to do as much as one self described 'agent of chaos' could.

The Joker had come in a blaze of fire and bullets; murder and kidnappings. He had crippled the Mob and nearly stopped their operations; not because it was the right thing to do, or anything like that. No...he did it because he believed that they weren't _worthy_ ; they were not good enough, especially to fight the Batman. As a result of the Joker and all he had done, the Mob had nearly stopped in every sort of way.

It was such a irony and a sharp poke to the sides of all of the men and women who had worked for _decades_ to stop it. Decades spent on getting rid of the Mob, blood spent, tears spilled, lives lost...and it all came down to a clown who thrived on chaos, who absolutely didn't care about any of those things, only that they hadn't been _worthy_.

Months had passed since the Joker had first arrived in Gotham (or at least made his presence known) and the constant battle between him and Batman was some of the most exciting things. But as far out as they both went, when Joker's knives would cut into the Batman's body, or Batman would pummel the Joker until blood spilled, neither one of them finished the other off. Never. Not in all the time they had been fighting. Instead, either the Joker would get away, or he would get hauled to Arkham, where he would inevitably get out of, thus restarting the cycle. No matter what the other did, neither would kill the other; a curious fact, but one which he didn't have the time to think about. Not now, anyway.

Those things were all interesting, but they were not the reason why he was here in Gotham. Two days ago, he had received the information he had been waiting for (and searching for), for a long time; Lex Luthor had finally been found. And not only was he alive and well, but he was in _Gotham_ of all places, around Gotham's elite of course. Gotham's elite stood (figuratively--and sometimes literally) on one side of Gotham and the poor and the degenerates stood at the Narrows--though those worlds tended to mix more than people liked to admit to.

He had been ready to leave immediately after receiving the news, but knew it best to wait, as a party would be held in Gotham days later, Gotham's elite hosting Metropolis' elite, as well as a few other rich folk from other cities as well, but it was mostly Gotham's rich and powerful mingling with Metropolis'.

Time had passed and now here he stood, atop one of the many skyscrapers in the city, dressed in his full gear and taking his bow and an arrow out. He eyes the building across from the one he stood on with a critical eye filled with experience, letting loose the arrow which also held a long cord attached to it, and which strikes the building precisely where he had wanted it to.

He puts his bow up and quickly travels down the cord on a zip-line, tumbling across the rooftop as he lands, before quickly straightening up and taking down the arrow and cord. He makes quick work of the padlocks that were on the rooftop door and opens it up; Oliver Queen would soon be making his appearance with Gotham and Metropolis' finest.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

He eyes the impressive building; they had some nice buildings here too, as Metropolis did. Though his impression of Gotham was that it had a sort of...darkness to it. As if the city had been held in the grips of sorrow for a long time and could not hide that fact. During the day it held that secret well, but when night came, the city could not hide.

The city was buzzing with the largest party in recent memory, all held at the billionaire Bruce Wayne's penthouse and all of Gotham's, as well as Metropolis' elite would be there. So too, would Lex Luthor. Lex...he couldn't believe it when Oliver told him the information he had found out, had somehow been lucky enough to stumble onto and know what he was reading (all the information had been coded.)

He straightens his press pass out, so it was more easily visible. He had been quite lucky, because Metropolis had wanted a story on this party and he had been asked by Tess to; in this case he didn't mind the favoring that she was showing him, plus this saved him the agony of trying to think of a good excuse for just up and leaving, because there was _no_ way that he wouldn't come, not when he knew that Lex was alive (and apparently quite well.)

He walks up to the security who look him over with a critical eye, looking _very_ carefully at his pass (as many people were trying to get in, many having fake passes and I.D's) before letting him through. Clark felt a palpable sense of relief to get away from the growing crowd and flashes of Gotham and Metropolis paparazzi and other papers which were not allowed into the building.

Security was more than tight everywhere, but he knew that the rich wanted to feel as safe as possible during their little parties, especially for one as big as this. He understood why; not only was the party being hosted by Bruce Wayne, known playboy and humanitarian (and apparently by Lex Luthor as well), but another known playboy (and billionaire) Oliver Queen would be in attendance as well. Not only that, but there were rumors that the famed playboy superhero, Tony Stark would be making an apperance as well. These four men held more money between them than all of Gotham and Metropolis' citizens _combined_.

He still couldn't believe how Tony had revealed his secret identity to the whole world like he had. There would be a lot more people after the man now, but the man had a giant suit of armor at his disposal which he could use at the drop of a hat, so Clark didn't really worry about him. (Probably better to worry about those who tried to mess with the Iron Man, really.)

He reaches the elevator and steps inside, pushing the button for the penthouse level, watching the doors close. He shakes his head as he heads further up. Oliver was such a well known name that he would have had absolutely _no_ trouble getting inside the building downstairs, but no, he had to be stealthy and risky when he could have just done things the easy way. Oliver seemed to like taking risks and the like.

...and Clark refused to admit that he liked that he did.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Hiro sighs. Frustrating, just sitting around because you have nothing better to do. At his father's will reading, he had been given majority shares of his father's company and the money as well; he was a rich man who didn't want any of it. He left the running of Yamagato to his sister, Kimiko, as she was _much_ better suited to it than he was; it was not for him and never would be, he knew this.

No...his life was made to be much more than signing papers and too much money which he didn't know what to do with. No, he was a person born meant to help people, to save the world. To _be_ something. Be something... _special_. He had a power, and that meant using it responsibly and help people. He didn't want money or the power to control a company, but he had the one thing he truly wanted.

His most cherished possession walks through the door, as if on cue, turning that devilishly handsome smile at him, the smile that always made his knees weak and his heart skip a beat.

 _Adam_.

"Hello, carp. Thought I'd come and save you the horror that which is the company workplace. Nothing worse than that."

Hiro wasn't aware of it (though Adam was), but the virus infested time they had been living in had changed due to a few actions (some of their own, some by others) and that time had been erased, leaving everyone with hazy memories which fixed themselves in days, telling the brain that they had a stressful few days, for whatever reason, and that was all. Adam wasn't sure if it was only him who remembered (because he couldn't truly forget something--it would come back eventually, as Peter's memory did when he had lost his when the Haitian had taken it.)

Adam was happy that his carp didn't remember it though; he would rather take on all the burden of remembering, rather than having Hiro remember such bleak times. He had failed Hiro before and he wouldn't do it again. Hiro had failed _him_ years and years ago, and he had failed his carp.

They became even; the past was best to be forgotten, other than a few cherished memories, as well as the memory of what Angela Petrelli could do--and _was_ doing now. Lifted from a virus free time, she had instead turned to taking over the Company and trying her hardest to turn Sylar into evil; and as far as Adam could tell, Sylar had never really been evil.

Morally grey as many of them were, and misled, but not evil. But then again, who knew...it was possible that she herself was not the evil mastermind that he, and others, thought her to be; something else could be happening behind the scenes. He doubted it, but he wouldn't be stupid enough to think that there _couldn't_ be a possibility, for that line of thinking led to folly.

Hiro smiles at him, the smile lighting up his face and making Adam's heart tighten in his chest at the sight. There was no other thing in the world that he loved more and he would kill anyone who dare to harm him.

"It's terrible! I don't know how people can stand it--especially Ando-kun!"

 _Probably because he can just sit around and flip through porn most of the time._ Thought Adam, though he wasn't about to say that, but he was pretty sure Hiro already knew this about his best friend. Adam didn't really care one way or another, other than he found it pretty amusing; everyone had their own vices after all. (Just take Peter and Nathan for instance...)

"Oh, and here--" he hands Hiro a large sealed envelope. "It's from your family lawyer. Something...from your father apparently."

The embrace he receives makes him close his eyes. He knew he had been forgiven, but he would still be paying the price for what he had done for a long time to come, in his own eyes. He didn't deserve his carp.

Hiro pulls back from the hug and opens up the envelope. Inside was a DVD. He looks at it, then at Adam who raises a brow.

"Might as well play it, carp."

All the fuss his family lawyer had made in what his father wanted to give to him and it turns out to be a legacy to...guard a piece of paper.

Apparently it was also something very important because as soon as he gets his hands on it and Adam moves over to get a closer look, it gets snatched out of his hands.

He immediately stops and concentrates, stopping time. He glances at his former Sword Saint who stood frozen in time and frowns at the stream of time that was visible, mixed with many colors. He could even touch it. He follows it out of his office and down the hallway, all the way to a bleached blonde haired girl who was holding the paper in her hands. Quite suddenly, her head turns to look at him.

He squeaks.

She glares at him.

"Great, just great. What are you, another speedster?"

"Speedster?" Repeated Hiro, confused. He shakes his head. "No, I stop time and travel through space. And you have my paper!"

She glances down at his paper, apparently oblivious to the frozen people and scenery around them, or probably just not caring.

"Yeah, well, I was asked by someone very important to get this to them, so tough luck, Pikachu."

"P-Pikachu!" Spluttered Hiro.

She hits him in the face and he staggers back; as he does, time restarts and she runs off, zooming around the corner. Adam comes running towards him as he follows the way she went. The sight that he comes to is such a surprise to him that he can only stand there for a moment, with Adam catching up to him very quickly, and who also looks at the sight in surprise.

The girl was unconscious on the floor, and the Mirror Master, dressed in a silver suit was straightening up, paper in hand and grinning.

"Oops, guess I should have watched where I was going," he didn't sound apologetic at all, in fact his smile widens when he looks over to the two men. He waves the paper. "Looking for something?"

"You!" Exclaimed Hiro, running forward, with Adam right beside him, and yanking the paper out of the man's hands. "What are you doing here?"

"What happened to her?" Adam asked, gestering to the unconscious female in red.

Mirror Master shrugs. "I was traveling through one of my mirrors and as I was coming through to this dimension, I ran into her as she was zooming on by and she tumbled into the wall." He didn't sound too worried about her. He turns to look at Hiro. "And as to your question...I was asked to come get you."

"By your evil master, so you can do more villainy?" Demanded Hiro.

Mirror Master glances at Adam with a look like 'is this guy for real?', before turning back to the time-traveler. "For one thing, I don't have a master; I have a guy I work for and he sure as hell ain't evil. Morally grey as fuck, yes, but not 'evil'. And no--not for any 'villainy'" he quotes with his fingers. "Technically I work for Bruce Wayne during the day...and the Joker at night. Or at least, _Evan McCulloch_ works for Bruce Wayne (not the Batman) and Mirror Master hangs around with the Joker at night...usually anyway. Well, maybe some of it could be considered villainy..." He shrugs again. "I was sent here to get you--since I was the only obvious way to get you to Gotham. The Joker asked me to come get you for this party thing that's getting ready to happen; well, he more like demanded and waved a knife around a lot, but I digress...so..."

Hiro turns to Adam who shrugs elegantly.

"You _have_ been bored, carp."

Hiro nods. He _had_ been. Adam was right. And to see _Gotham_...

"What are we waiting for?" He asked, smiling at his lover.

Adam smirks. "Let's go, carp."

Hiro nods and Adam grabs onto him. They turn to the Mirror Master who nods, making a mirror portal and jumping inside; Hiro and Adam follow right after him. The speed girl starts to stir, moaning slightly and rubbing her head as Ando comes running in suddenly.

"Did Hiro just teleport off without me again?!" Ando sighs. He notices the girl on the ground. "Hello, miss, my name is Ando Takahashi and--"

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

The travel through time, space and dimensions through mirrors was unfamiliar, but the trip went smoothly and they landed on the otherside without a problem. Hiro looked around the city with easily seen excitement and Adam smiles, glad to see his carp looking so happy, while the Mirror Master wrinkled his nose at the lovey dovey pair (though he knew what both were capable of; and he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.)

"You can look around in the car," said Mirror Master abruptly, causing the pair to look over at him. He points to a _very_ expensive looking black car which was parked in a small gravel path next to the grass patch they had landed at, with a elderly gentleman standing in front of it. "We couldn't teleport directly to the party, cause well...all the people there, obviously. And if you're going to get driven around in a car, might as well do it in style." He grins.

Hiro runs over to the car and hugs the bewildered man, glancing over at Adam.

"It's _Alfred_!" Hiro said gleefully.

Adam laughs with the Mirror Master shaking his head, unable to keep from grinning at the time-traveler's antics.

"I take it this is the excitable Japanese bloke you were talking about, Evan."

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

He grins as the limo door opens up and people scream on either side of the vehicle as he gets out, straightening up, winking at the cameras. He walks down the red carpet which led to the front door of Wayne's building, waving at the people outside, grin widening. One could never have enough fans, whether they be fangirls (he couldn't keep track of how many women asked to bear his children) or fanboys (strangely there were more of those than he expected.)

He walks inside the building after one final wink and wave to the cameras and the people outside.

Sometimes it was just _great_ to be Tony Stark.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

The party was in full swing as he arrives, absently straightening his suit out as he moved in to mingle with all the guests, taking a glass of champagne from Alfred as he passed by. He had yet to see the biggest names in the room (although nearly every single person in the room was rich and powerful in their own right, in different ways, they did not touch the status' of Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor, Tony Stark...and yes, himself.)

Lex was the main reason he had arrived here; though he had been invited to the party by Wayne. Lex, who had been thought dead by most, or possibly kidnapped/lost. The last place he had expected to find the billionaire was Gotham City. But that just showed him that he had to learn to read things better and not let so many surprises creep up on him as they had been. He may not have superhuman abilities like Clark, but then again neither did Batman, nor Iron Man (from what he had heard.)

They all had their uses and he was all but _dying_ to get them all in a room together with the superheroes he had gathered and create a fully formed supergroup. The good that they all could accomplish...! Now, if he could just get Clark on board... Give him something flashy to wear, like a red cape or something...

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

They were dropped in front of the building by Alfred, amidst a crowd of reporters hungry for pictures and a story and people who were desperate to meet all the people invited to the party, besides wanting to be at the party with them. The sheer number of people outside, as well as the noise left Hiro bemused. Adam, on the other hand, took it as to be expected, amused and happy with all the attention. Mirror Master seemed to take it all in stride, smirking slightly, but Hiro noticed a bit of uneasiness in the man's eyes: perhaps he too didn't care for the scrutiny of so many.

After they manage to finally get to the door, they are quickly led inside by two beefy bodyguards, who, with one look at Mirror Master, take them to the elevators. The ride inside the elevator was silent as they got on, but once the doors closed and they left the bodyguards behind, Adam turns to the Mirror Master.

"There's something I've been wondering, since you 'dropped' by earlier and told us that the Joker wanted us to come to a _party_. I can understand him doing a few 'normal' things, but _this_ just screams out that: something is going on. Behind the scenes, anyway." He glances at Hiro who nods fervently, also believing that something like that was extremely out of the Joker's character too, even if he _did_ sometimes do the 'normal' things for Bruce, to do a gala event like this and not have anything going on, or knowing of anything going on...too out of character.

Hiro vaguely wondered if he and Adam would appear in some of the Batman comics back home. After all, 'Heroes' (his life and the other Heroes and Villains' lives) was a show and graphic novels in _this_ world. So...who knew!

The not-so-villainus villain was silent for the rest of the elevator ride. The doors open with a ding and they could all hear the chatter of Metropolis and Gotham's elite down quite a ways past the long hallway. As they all start to exit the elevator, Mirror Master turns to look at them.

" _He_ hasn't actually done _anything_. He never said to me about planning anything." Said Mirror Master, shrugging.

But as they walk down the hallway, Adam catches the Mirror Master mouthing the words to himself: 'But it doesn't mean that something _won't_ happen...'

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~* ~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

He watches his lover out of the corner of his eye, seeing the man trying to hold himself in check, his little ritualistic tics like smacking his lips or licking them was much more pronounced; Bruce could see the nervousness and anxiousness in him and it was understandable. That, and he knew the man had to be bored out of his skull, his feelings for Bruce probably the only thing that was keeping him from putting a few holes in some people. Bruce of course didn't condone that sort of stuff, but he was more than used to it by now.

His relationship with the Joker was a paradox at the same time it made perfect sense (which made _another_ paradox, but--) He stood for pretty much everything the Joker was against, and yet they had so many similarities. 'Two opposite sides of the same coin' as the Joker had said so many times. And it was true. He wouldn't, couldn't, fight his feelings any longer and in the long run, it didn't change anything they did when they became Batman and the Joker and not Bruce and Jack. He liked it that way and he knew the Joker felt the same way.

But thoughts of his lover and their relationship leaves his mind when he looks upon the room, looking over to where Lex Luthor was talking with one of Gotham's wealthiest bank owners, and there was another famous billionaire playboy, Oliver Queen who notices him looking over at him and nods, lifting his glass in a silent salute as he spoke to a man who, on the surface, looked like a mild mannered reporter (black hair, face framed by glasses which the man didn't need, a blue suit and red tie) but who Bruce knew to be someone else entirely.

A new superhero, with powers unlike any other he had seen; a veritable super boy, or man. He found the information out quite easily: he _was_ one of the best minds out there, after all. ...He supposed it helped that he had a bit of help on that. His eyes turn and focus as he notices a familiar figure coming his way.

He could almost _hear_ the sneer on the Joker's face before he sees it, as Tony Stark comes up to them, grinning from ear to ear. Bruce was one of the smartest people out there, as was Tony, which is how Tony found Lex Luthor, as well as the newbie hero Clark Kent.

"Got to say Wayne, you throw the most _boring_ parties...just like the rest of us billionaire superhero elite," Tony said, grin plastered on his face. He looks over at the Joker who was looking at him with ill-disguised distrust and jealousy on his face, scars hidden away by makeup and latex. "So, who might you be? Don't tell me you're from Star City Bank; they keep hounding me for money, as they do all us richies... _in the nicest of ways of course_ _ **.**_ " He says sarcastically.

Before the Joker can reply, Bruce puts an arm around him and gives him a soft kiss on the side of his face, feeling the criminal stiffen slightly in surprise. "This is Jack, my lover." Tony looked as surprised as the Joker felt at the sudden display of affection, and admission.

"Really? Got to say, I didn't expect..." Tony trailed off before looking at him. "Not that I'm prejudiced or anything: I'd be lying if I said I never checked out Rhodey's ass a time or two." He glances over to where Oliver and Clark were talking, looking serious. "Or their's for that matter."

"Bruce's got a better ass than them though: I checked." Was the Joker's reply, grinning suddenly.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

He felt a bit like the odd man out as he and Ollie walk their way over to Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark (Iron Man! In the flesh!), and a guy he had never seen before (but who Wayne had his arm around). Oliver, of course, had no trouble working his way into their conversation without missing a beat.

"What's that I hear about the best ass? I assure you that mine is superior. I don't work out everyday for _nothing_ you know," said Oliver with a wink. He moves in a little closer, starting to speak but gets interrupted as a guy in a silver suit, an english guy (he knew the man was english--he heard him speaking) and a Japanese guy (the english guy and japanese guy both had swords at their backs, strangely enough.)

"Ah," said the blonde man, moving out of Wayne's embrace. "So you got them here all right. Great. I was about to shoot something from boredom." He snorts.

Something seemed a little... _off_ about the man. He vaguely heard Wayne mutter the man's name, 'Jack', as the man rolls his shoulders a bit. At approaching their group, the japanese man lets out an exclamation, pointing at them and gesturing wildly.

"Hiro!" Hissed the english man. "Don't be so obvious."

Hiro couldn't seem to help himself however, and he grabs the hand of a bewildered Tony Stark, shaking it with fervor. " _Iron Man!_ And--!"

"All right, why don't we all mingle for a little while gentleman," said Bruce smoothly, interrupting Hiro swiftly. "And let Hiro and Adam here have a look around."

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

They all did as Bruce suggested and Clark finally manages to lose Oliver in a crowd of partygoers, thankful that he wouldn't have to keep arguing with Oliver, about finding Lex, anymore. He searches around the room briefly before his breath catches, eyes filling with the sight of Lex Luthor, alive and well, looking well rested and calmer than he had in a long time.

It was all Clark could do to just stand there and not take that step forward, no matter how much he wanted to, as much as he felt like running away, using his speed to get far away and not deal with all the emotional baggage that he didn't want to admit to. Feelings that had been inside him for as long as he could remember, from that fateful day he saved Lex, getting him out of that car, probably.

But he didn't have to move: Lex did that for him. They lock eyes and he curses his traitorous heart as it starts to beat faster at the sight of the man, watching him walk over to him, watching how he ignored other's attempt to converse with him as he walked, eyes on Clark all the while.

"Clark."

"Lex," he said, voice choked with emotion.

Suddenly Lex smiles. "I missed you."

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Oliver takes Tony aside. "Who were those guys? Hiro and Adam?"

Tony shrugs. "No idea. But I don't think that's very important right now."

"And why wouldn't it b--"

Tony points ahead of them and Oliver turns to look to where he was pointing at. Three men had just arrived in the room, armed and one of them pulls out another larger, strange looking gun. People start to scream, running this way and that.

"Point taken."

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

One of the men was easily recognizable to him: wearing a burlap mask and a suit was the Scarecrow. The other two men he hadn't ever seen before and liked the look of them, (one of them wearing a fairly casual clothes, dark short hair and sharp cheekbones and the other wearing a light blue suit and holding a strange looking gun, his skin looking about the same kind of icy blue as the suit, his lips were a dark blue as were his eyes and hair)even less because they looked, and felt, like more than just lackies.

They felt dangerous.

He turns suddenly, noticing for the first time that the Joker was nowhere to be found.

Shit.

~*~

Two of them he didn't recognize, but the other man was easily recognizable to him.

Brainiac.

~*~

Hiro moves closer to Adam, longing (as he knew Adam had to be) to grab his sword, but knowing he couldn't. And he couldn't stop time either; something was blocking him, perhaps being in such an unfamiliar place. It felt like having to learn Time for the first time again, just barely managing to turn the clock at his desk back a second. He didn't have the time to master it, or teleporting, which left him with just his sword skills, as Adam had (though his regenerative powers were obviously working fine for him.) Mirror Master was nowhere to be seen, neither was the Joker.

This sure wasn't what he signed up for when he agreed to come! It was like straight out of a comic!

He was as excited as he was frightened.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Bruce uses, as does Oliver, the large crowd in front of him to sneak away, going over to one of the walls, putting his thumb on a certain place and entering his hidden room, putting on his gear. When he comes out, he's faced with the Green Arrow, who grins at him.

"Ah, I knew you had _some_ kind of dirty secret," the Green Arrow said, winking slightly as he puts on his glasses, voice sounding deeper and different than usual.

"And I didn't know that your balls hadn't dropped until just now." Using his scratchy rough sounding voice that he used when he became the Batman.

The Green Arrow laughs with him as they hurry back.

~*~

Plastic and other things fall to the floor in a hurry. Clothes were quickly ripped off (didn't like those anyway!)and others put on (now _these_ were the good stuff!)

Paint, the colors of red, white, and black gets thrown on a face in a frenzy, as if applying war paint, as if preparing for war.

~*~

He glances to his right and curses as he sees that Lex has somehow slipped out of his sites, as he was too busy focusing on the three men who had just intruded. He feels more than sees Adam and Hiro slip over to him; everyone else was nowhere in sight.

The man in blue, who seemed to be the leader of the group, took another step forward, looking this way and that, his arm holding the strange gun moving from side to side as well. The noise from the people seemed to be getting to the man.

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!" He seemed very agitated, though Clark could tell, even through the man's mask, that the Scarecrow was excited by all the fear in the room. Brainiac glances around the room before looking him straight in the eyes, jolting him. He grins at Clark before disappearing. One of the elite men's wives starts to scream, which seems to push the man over the edge. He grabs her by the hair, dragging her over and starts to aim his gun at her before getting stopped by a sudden voice.

"Stop. She has nothing to do with anything, Victor. Put the gun down." Said the calm voice of Lex Luthor, walking through the crowd to stand in front of the man.

" _You_!" Hissed the man in blue, Victor? He pushes the sobbing female away and the Scarecrow grabs her. "I've been looking for you. _Waiting._ You, _you_ , and your fucking company. I let you all do _this_ to me," he gestures at his body and Clark noticed that each time he spoke, there was visible breath, as if it were a day outside that was extremely cold, except that they were inside and it was warm. "So that you all would heal my sister, heal Nora. You all _promised_ me!"

He starts to shoot the gun, Clark starts to run towards them but gets halted by the kryptonite which he knew was around but could not see, but a sudden punch from a black clothed arm and hand knocks the gun out of his hands. When the gun falls to the ground, it goes off, shooting part of the floor and freezing it.

"Everyone! Out! _Now!_ " Barks Batman.

The people needed no other incentive and they all starts scurrying out of the penthouse, pushing past Clark, Adam and Hiro who, having been enraptured by the scene in front of them, start to run up ahead. It was then that Clark noticed Brainiac holding a small sphere of Kryptonite. Scarecrow tries to shoot some toxin at them, but gets hit by an arrow that flies through the air sharply, nicking him in the shoulder and making him drop to one knee.

Batman nods his thanks to Green Arrow and attempts to strike the man again, but gets hit from behind by Brainiac, giving the man in blue time to strike the Batman. Lex makes a grab for the gun on the floor just as Clark, Adam and Hiro arrive, getting struck by Brainiac as he does so.

"Lex!"

Lex crumples to the ground and Clark winces in pain, doubling over from his closeness to the glowing Kryptonite in Brainiac's hands.

"Let's take this somewhere a little more...spacious, shall we?" Said Brainiac, grinning.

A wave passes over them, but Hiro knew that he and the villain Brainiac had to be the only ones who could see it as they get transported: it was Time. Adam curses when he and Hiro arrive --alone--in a backalley somewhere in Gotham's Narrows. Hiro curses too, to Adam's surprise.

"Carp, can you--?"

Hiro shakes his head. "My powers aren't working as they should. I feel like I can do a little more now, but there isn't enough for me to get us to where the others got transported to. Oh! I did see where they went though."

"I doubt that there'll be anything left if we have to huff it over there on foot, Hiro," said Adam drily.

"Of course not! We are Heroes! _Superheroes!_ When one thing doesn't go the way we hoped--we find another way!"

Adam raises a brow, looking doubtful. "Uh huh. And just what do you suggest?"

Hiro runs out of the alley, with Adam on his tail. He turns to look at his lover. "What any other person would do in this situation..."

He turns back around, putting a arm high up into the air and waving it wildly around.

" _Taxi!_ "

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The teleportation knocked them all back a bit, including Brainiac, whose grip on the Kryptonite slackened, causing it to roll away from him.

"What the hell was that?" whined Scarecrow as he starts to stand, seemingly ignoring his slightly bleeding shoulder. "I thought there was going to be no teleporting going on. _We pinky shook on it!_ "

"Only because you insisted!" Exclaimed Brainiac. "I suggested Galaxy 7's way, but noooooooo, you got all squeamish."

"You wanted us to take blood oaths!"

The man in blue was nowhere to be seen and the Joker and Mirror Master were also MIA, the same as Tony Stark. And now Hiro and Adam as well.

Green Arrow turns to Clark, dusting himself off. "...They're not as tough without Mr. Freeze with them, huh?" He asks Clark, amused.

Clark shakes his head, glad that the kryptonite was out of the way, but was mystified at the villains' behavior, making him fight the urge to scratch his head in confusion.

"Yeah...wait, Mr. Freeze? Isn't that kind of an... _obvious_ name?" He asks Green Arrow as they watch as Scarecrow tries to spray Brainiac with his toxin, fails as it does nothing to the man, and Brainiac yanks Scarecrow's mask down his face hard.

Batman, meanwhile, was trying to figure out if he should also laugh at the scene or to break up the sissy fighting and throw a punch on one (or both) of them. Probably both.

Lex starts to stir with a groan and Clark immediately goes over to him, kneeling beside him. Wanting to touch him, wanting the feeling of Lex in his hands, proving to himself that Lex was really there, okay, and...really there. He holds himself back. They had such a tumultuous history and even had an embrace in the Fortress of Solitude as it collapsed around them, all the strained stuff between them seemingly forgotten in that one moment.

"Lex?" He whispers hesitantly. "Are you...are you all right?"

Lex turns his eyes to look at Clark and the look in them floors him by the sheer intensity and feeling in them.

"I thought...I saw that kryptonite and I couldn't...I couldn't lose you, Clark." Lex said hoarsely.

A few things happened simultaniously at that moment: Clark and Lex kiss, Scarecrow stomps on Brainiac's foot, Brainiac puts Scarecrow into a headlock, Mr. Freeze runs out of the shadows and fires his gun wildly, the Joker, Iron Man and Mirror Master (all in full gear) running after him, a few of the blasts hit the bottom of Batman's cape and everyone literally stop everything they are doing as Batman starts to turn slowly towards Mr. Freeze who, in an ironically funny way, freezes up in fear.

"My...cape..."

Mr. Freeze squeaks. "My...my..."

"I didn't have anything to do with that!" Lex exclaimed hotly. "Tess has been running my company--not me! Take it up with her!"

"Tess? She wasn't as great in the sack as she thought she was--" started Green Arrow.

"Hey!" Exclaimed Clark.

Oliver looks over at him. "What? You're busy with Lex smooching away. You've _never_ noticed me like that. Even when I walk around you shirtless." He pouts.

Bam!

Clark walks over to him. He grabs him and kisses him hard, making Oliver moan. He pulls back, glancing at Lex who raises a brow.

Pow!

"We can always...work something out." Lex smirks, winking at the two.

Kapow!

None of them seemed to be paying attention Batman beating up Mr. Freeze: Clark, Lex and Oliver were in the middle of...whatever the hell that was, Scarecrow and Brainiac attempt to start fighting each other again, but the Joker and Mirror Master start chasing _them_ around. Iron Man walks over to a small crowd that had gathered at the very odd sight, and approaches two twin blonde females.

"Nothing to worry about...we know what we're doing. So if you two lovely ladies would like to go to the Blue Note or something and maybe get a drink or five--"

A cab suddenly pulls up in the middle of the fighting and craziness, making everyone stop what they were doing and stare at it for a few seconds...before going back to what they were doing. The back doors open and Hiro and Adam come out of the car, Hiro pulling out his sword and swinging it around.

"We're here now! We're ready to--" He stops and stares open-mouthedly at the stuff going on.

Adam had only one thing to say: "Anyone got 47 bucks for the cab?"

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End file.
